RADNET – News

” British Columbia Canada Before And After Tidal Zone Picture Show an Extinction Event playing out along the Coast Line . Picture On The Right Are Picture Of The Same Place Taken on The Fukushima Expedition For Life”

Effects of Fukushima on West Coast British Columbia Sea Life – thenuclearproctologist.org

Uranium Leaked Through Floor of South Carolina Nuclear Plant

A nuclear plant in Richmond County, South Carolina with a history of contaminating groundwater has leaked radioactive uranium into the soil below the plant, The State reported Tuesday.

South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) officials said there was no reason to believe this leak left the the site of the Westinghouse plant or posed a threat to public drinking water, but state senator Darrell Jackson is calling for a public meeting to discuss the leak and other historic issues at the plant, The State further reported Wednesday.

“This is very disturbing,” Jackson said. “This is one of the fears that those of us who grew up in that area, and lived in that area, have always talked about. I’m asking DHEC to get to Westinghouse officials and let’s have a public meeting, not just with elected officials, but we need citizens there also.”

The company informed the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) of the leak July 12, which came through a hole in a part of the plant where acid is used. The hole was three inches and extended six feet into the ground, the NRC told The State.

The NRC found uranium levels in the soil of 4,000 parts per million, more than 1,000 times higher than average for soil.

The company has covered the hole with a metal plate and said it would not use the area until it was completely repaired.

The DHEC said they were still testing the groundwater on the site to see if it was contaminated, but said the plant itself was far enough away from public drinking water that it shouldn’t cause a problem.

“Based on existing information, there is no threat to the public from this recent release or from historical groundwater contamination at this secured site as there is no exposure risk to the general public,” DHEC spokesperson Tommy Crosby told The State.

But Jackson was not reassured.

“What we don’t know is what kind of impact that’s going to have 20 years from now on the groundwater, this drip, drip, drip,” Jackson said. “I don’t know of too many people too receptive to living in the area when they know the groundwater is contaminated.”

DHEC spokesperson Cristi Moore said the agency would consider the senator’s request for a meeting.

This isn’t the first time safety concerns have surrounded the Westinghouse plant.

Part of the plant had to shut down two years ago because of uranium found accumulating in an air pollutiondevice, The Associated Press reported. It was also cited by the federal government this year for failing to plan adequately for a potential radiation burst.

Groundwater below the plant has also been found to be contaminated with nitrate since 1984. While clean up efforts were made, the nitrate was not entirely removed, The State reported.

The leak comes as the Trump administration has promised to assist unprofitable nuclear and coal plants. Its most recent plan, reported in June, would require that grid operators buy power from struggling plants for the sake of national security.

Regulators: Uranium leaked at SC nuclear fuel plant

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Radioactive uranium leaked through the floor of a nuclear fuel plant in South Carolina but state health officials say they don’t think the material has threatened water supplies.

The material leaked through a 3-inch (8-centimeter) hole in the concrete floor where acid is used at the Westinghouse plant south of Columbia, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The NRC learned of the leak July 12 and said the hole is 6 feet (2 meters) deep, according to records obtained by The State newspaper .

There is no reason to think the uranium has moved away from the plant or threatens water supplies because there are no private homes downstream of the plant and no public water supply wells within 2 miles (3 kilometers) of the hole, according to the state Department of Health and Environmental Control.

But the agency is awaiting groundwater tests on the Westinghouse property, spokesman Tommy Crosby said.

“Based on existing information, there is no threat to the public from this recent release or from historical groundwater contamination at this secured site as there is no exposure risk to the general public,” Crosby said in an email to the newspaper this week.

The uranium in the soil near the hole reached 4,000 parts per million, according to federal records, which is 1,300 times greater than normal.

Westinghouse and the federal government need to explain how long uranium was leaking through the hole into the soil, said Tom Clements, an anti-nuclear activist.

“It’s a pretty big concern if you have an unknown quantity of material containing uranium leaching into the groundwater,” Clements said.

The plant uses uranium to make the fuel rods for commercial nuclear reactors.

The company covered the hole in the floor with a metal plate and isn’t using the chemical-processing equipment in the area until the hole is repaired, Westinghouse spokeswoman Sarah Cassella said in an email.

Westinghouse had to shut down part of the plant 10 miles (16 kilometers) southeast of downtown Columbia two years ago when uranium built up in an air pollution device and was cited by federal regulators earlier this year for not having proper procedures in place to limit a burst of radiation.

The company has brought in new management and pledged to be more safety conscious.

Could BC and California Wildfires be spreading RADIATION via the Smoke?

As horrific as this season’s fires have been so far, with all the destruction of homes and loss of lives, what disturbs me most is what I have just recorded in my logs, photos and readings. At the peak of the fires and smoke just a few days ago, the readings were significantly higher – – and not by just a little. I recorded a peak reading of 1,333 cpm on the morning of July 31st, and had multiple readings above 1,000 cpm during that period. And, none of the fires is even close to us this time. The likely source of much of the smoke here is a fire near Yosemite National Park, over a hundred miles away. I suspect heavier concentrations of smoke would yield higher results.

Has the vast bulk of the 40 million population of California just been unknowingly exposed to high concentrations of radioactive particles? What are the constituents of these particles? How hazardous are they? It was recently widely reported that radiation from Fukushima, in the form of Cesium-137, was detected in small quantities in California wines. There can be little doubt that Cesium-137 from Fukushima has also been absorbed by all the vegetation here, and when burned, is re-released.

This situation cries out for serious study. I have no experience or academic training in this field. There may well be alternative explanations. I can see from what I have recorded that there are nuances and variances over the course of the day that probably reflect complex processes. All I know is that what we have been breathing shows indications of being contaminated with radioactive particles. It is strongly implied that this radioactivity has been silently concentrating in the plants around us, and is presumably in the food we eat, and in what we drink as well.